Sunday, October 11, 2009

Last month I wrote a post about the rumor that Bob Flannagan would challenge Courtney Watson for the District 1 County Council seat next year. It is no longer a rumor. Bob has officially tossed his hat into the ring with the launch of this website.

Bob is a formidable challenger for Courtney. District 1, which includes portions of Ellicott City, Elkridge, and Hanover, is a swing district. Prior to Courtney, the seat was held by Republican Chris Merdon. This could turn out to be one of the more interesting contests in the next year’s elections.

12
comments:

Anonymous
said...

His website sucks, and I think it’s the first campaign website I have ever seen that has ads. That said, he seems to be a very strong contender based on his experience. I am really surprised someone like him is not running against Ulman, but maybe he and his party feels like he has a real shot against Watson whereas he has much less of a shot against the boy wonder.

I am an independent who voted for Chris Merdon. I, although have been extremely pleased with Courtney Watson's performance as a council member. She has gone out of her way to represent her constituents. She backed the community when Sec 8 housing was proposed on Frederick rd, when regs were being changed to build residential on comm, when a rediculous proposal for a church on rt 40 came up and has been very responsive to the big and small issues we face in District 1. She is not your typical polititian who is just working their way up the ladder,she is truly working for her district and all of Ho Co. I am not sure that is what Mr Flannigan is interested in doing.

Bob Flanagan is one of those people who just *has* to serve in elected office. He has an often grating personal manner, and he never seems to tire of the sound of his own voice or the image of his name in print.

Now, that said, he is a very intelligent man, a convincing speaker, and a tenacious campaigner. However, the thought that jumps to my mind is: why County Council in 2010? What's the motivation?

He's probably hoping he can win Council in 2010 so he can run for Exec in 2014. But he ought to be watching the calendar because I believe he is around 60.

Courtney Watson has done a fine job of representing the people of Elkridge and Ellicott City. Flanagan loves to toss the "L word" around; however I don't see where that tag applies to her.

I heard the rumors about Bob Flanagan's plan to run against Watson too. I think he has an up hill battle. Watson's record of customer service is unbeatable. And when I've dealt with her on neighborhood issues her knowledge - past and present -is vast and impressive. I don't know of anyone in my neighborhood that has called her office for any reason that didn't get a fast and helpful response. She is very popular in my neighborhood which is in a Republican area of Watson's district. I watch the televised council meetings. In my opinion, she is representing our community well. She does her homework on the issues and is armed with good questions and ideas. I like that she doesn't back down from the hard decisions. I will vote only for candidates that are responsible and responsive, smart, creative and fiscally conservative. I worry about what motivates Bob to run when he hasn't been involved with local issues. I will not vote for Bob just because he is a Republican. I am voting for the best candidate ....which for me is Watson.

10:04 PM Anonymous, I couldn't have said it better myself. Courtney is accessible, attentive, responsive and prompt to address concerns. She's proactive, respectful and gets the job done. She has been supportive of our Dunloggin/St. John's community, has advocated for our schools and works hard on behalf of District 1 and ALL Howard County citizens.

Republican or Democrat, I do not care. I am voting for the best person. I do believe that Flanagan was a failure as Secretary of Transportation for the State of MD...how many times did the bay bridge get paved before he got is right??? He also failed the citizens of Howard County as Sec of Transportation by doing nothing to make Route 32 safe. He had the information, power and money (remember that surplus!) to improve Route 32 and did nothing. We all unfortunately know the tragic results of his failure to lead. I cannot and will not vote for Flanagan!

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